Gift
by Random1377
Summary: Microfiction.  Ross asks for a moment of Ed's time the night before he leaves Central.  Oneshot.


Disclaimer: the rights to the anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist, are owned by… er… someone. Yup, definitely someone that's not me. Should this mysterious someone say to, this story will be removed from the web. Thanks.

Gift

By Random1377

Maria Ross snapped to attention as the door to her room was pushed open, revealing the blonde form of the Fullmetal Alchemist. "At ease, Lieutenant," he said, glancing down at where the parts of her handgun were lying on her bedside table, broken down for easy cleaning. "Wow," he mused, "and I just play checkers to unwind."

After a moment's hesitation, Maria sat back on the edge of her bed and resumed cleaning her gun. "Thank you for coming, sir," she said formally, cleaning out the barrel with a long wire brush. "I know you're anxious to be leaving, but I wondered if I could have a minute of your time."

"Well, I'm here," Ed replied with a smile. "What's on your mind, Lieutenant?"

"I… understand it's your birthday, sir," Maria observed gruffly. "Congratulations."

"Umm, thanks," Ed mumbled, glancing around the sparse quarters the woman was confined to. "Was… that it?"

"No, sir," Maria said. "On the table behind you, sir… please, with my complements."

Ed glanced over his shoulder, his grumpy expression fading a bit as he spotted a small, round chocolate cake with a little knife sitting on a plain white plate. "Al_right_!" he exclaimed. "Aw, you didn't have to do that, Lieutenant."

Maria began wiping her gun pieces down, studiously avoiding eye contact as she murmured, "It was nothing, sir. Please help yourself."

"Thanks!"

_Man,_ Ed thought, walking to the table and cutting himself a big slice, _when's the last time I had a cake on my birthday? Not since… not since mom died… _He glanced at the woman from the corner of his eye, but she was still busily cleaning her weapon. _Well, no use dwelling on the past, right?_ he thought. _Bottoms up._

Maria glanced up as the young alchemist took a big bite.

"Gah, it's terrible!" Ed gagged, sticking his tongue out as he held the small cake at arm's length. "Needs more sugar."

"I was afraid of that," Maria said neutrally, quickly turning her eyes back to her task. "I'm not much of a cook, I'm afraid, and the recipe had a water spot on part of the ingredients list so I…" she trailed off, frowning slightly as Ed began making a rather rude sound – somewhere between a snort and a smacking of the lips. Clearing her throat, Maria concluded, "So I wasn't sure how much sugar to use."

"No…" Ed gasped, "no problem…"

Maria glanced up, concerned that some portion of her terrible, bland cake was choking the Fullmetal Alchemist, but she blinked as she found Ed pounding on his chest with his metal hand, a grimace twisting his face as he used his free hand to wipe tears from his eyes.

There was no sign of the cake.

"Sir, I-"

"You got a drink?" Ed rasped. "Little… dry in here."

"Y-yes sir."

Quickly rising to her feet, Maria grabbed her canteen and twisted off the cap, offering it to Ed. The alchemist took it gratefully, upending it and taking a long drink as Maria discreetly looked down to see if the cake had been tossed aside somewhere, but all that remained was a few crumbs on the front of Ed's shirt.

"Why-"

"Wow, look at the time," Ed coughed, fumbling for his pocket watch and popping it open as he thrust the canteen back into Maria's hands. "Gotta get going, Lieutenant."

"Er, ok…"

Still pounding on his chest, Ed turned for the door, but before he could open it, he felt a hand light on his flesh and blood shoulder. "Lieutenant, I really gotta go."

Instead of replying, Maria gently squeezed his shoulder, leaning forward until her mouth was right next to his ear before whispering, "Happy birthday, sir…"

Blushing clear up to the tips of his ears, Ed roughly cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, thanks," he said gruffly, "probably gonna be gone a while, so… gotta get going… yeah…"

"Of course, sir."

Ed glanced over his shoulder as Maria let her hand fall to her side, giving him a polite, formal bow as he twisted the doorknob. "Gotta get going," he muttered under his breath. "Long way to go… gotta get going."

"Sir…?"

Ed paused with the door halfway open. "Yeah?"

"Godspeed."

"Thanks…"

"And sir?"

Ed tensed, anticipating the feel of her hand on his shoulder or her warm breath on his neck, but the air behind him was still as he barely breathed, "Yeah?"

"Please take care of yourself."

"R-right…"

Glancing once more over his shoulder, Ed found the woman reassembling her gun, her eyes focused on her task as if he had never come into the room… though her lips were curved up into a faint, happy smile, and her shoulders – always so tense and stiff – seemed loose and relaxed, as if a great weight had been lifted from them.

After a moment, Ed joined her in her smile, knowing, somehow, that he would always be welcome in this room, and in this woman's company.

"You too, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, sir…"

Without another word, Ed took his leave, and when Al asked him what Maria had needed, he offered nothing but a small, enigmatic smile as an answer.

The End

Avalon pre-read this fluffy little microfiction and deemed it to be a four-cavity success.


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